There’s a scene in the John Grisham thriller The Runaway Jury where Gene Hackman, as a highly paid — and highly unethical — jury consultant, is monitoring a bank of video screens, relying on hidden cameras and microphones to covertly coach the lawyers who are relying on him through the complex voir dire process in a landmark case. Today, Mr....

How federal bankruptcy courts treat the dischargeability of student loan debt has led to some controversy over the years. Indeed, this issue has plagued courts because it forces courts to weigh the equitable considerations that underlie bankruptcy, specifically a fresh start for the honest debtor versus the practical considerations presented when a party...

The Tennessee High School Mock Trial competition is the premier public service project of the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD), which it has sponsored since 1981. This year’s championship will be March 15-16 at the Metro Courthouse in Nashville, where Tennessee Supreme Court Justice William C. Koch will preside over the championship round.

May I offer some random and (hopefully) unbiased thoughts abut the Collateral Source rule discussion in the December and January issues of TBJ? By way of disclosure, I am primarily an injury defense lawyer. The comments I share are mine alone and not that of any other person or entity.

I have never been much of a horror movie fan. Werewolves, vampires and other creatures going bump in the night just don’t do it for me. But to this day I cannot watch Poltergeist. It played off of the same stuff that kept me up at night as a kid...

The Tennessee Bar Association was recognized in October with three Luminary Awards from the National Association of Bar Executives. The Tennessee Bar Journal earned a Luminary Award for The Law Launch Project, which followed 15 law students through their last year of school.

Shuttleworth Williams is now located in the First Tennessee Plaza at 800 South Gay St., Suite 2031 in Knoxville. The new space puts the office closer to the Knox County Courthouse, state Supreme Court Building and U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

The Tennessee Supreme Court launched in February a volunteer recognition program to honor lawyers who provide at least 50 hours of pro bono service annually. The program is entirely voluntary and based on self-reporting. Attorneys are encouraged to begin tracking their work this year. Those who meet the goal will be named “Attorneys for Justice” by the...

Former Criminal Court Judge and TBA senior counselor FRED A. KELLY died Sept. 27 at the age of 93. Kelly graduated from the University of Tennessee and later served in World War II, earning the rank of captain. He graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1948 and began practicing law in Gallatin. A native of the city, he went...

Administrative Suspensions Now Online

Notice of attorneys suspended for, and reinstated from, administrative violations — including failure to pay the Board of Professional Responsibility fee, file the IOLTA report, comply with continuing legal education requirements and pay the Tennessee professional privilege tax — is now available exclusively...

Corporate crime is big news. Lawyers practicing in Tennessee face an increasing likelihood of being asked to assist business clients in responding to an allegation of criminal wrongdoing. To protect the business and to avoid inadvertent harm to others (and your license), counsel must both understand the attorney-client privilege of an organization.

Thirty-five years ago when I became a lawyer, I bought myself two very impressive items that I felt I needed to make me look like a real lawyer.

The first was a dark blue suit. My wardrobe in law school consisted of t-shirts, blue jeans, a pair of Chuck Taylor Converse All-Stars, and a polyester plaid jacket I had purchased at JC Penny’s for fifty...